What Happened Last Night: The Giants Stave Off Elimination

Not a whole lot was going on Friday night. Sure, there was Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, but aside from that?

No NFL action No NCAA action. There were a few NBA preseason games going on, but you don't care about that.

Let's get right into the only game that mattered.

The Giants Take Game 5, Still Trail Cardinals 3 Games To 2

Buoyed by Barry Zito's 7.2 innings of six-hit shutout ball, the San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 in Game 5 of the NLCS to send the series back to to San Francisco for Game 6. Zito even helped his own cause in the win, bunting home a run in a four-run fourth inning that gave the Giants a lead they never surrendered.

The performance was arguably the best of Zito's postseason career. Though he's had several playoff games where he's allowed just one earned run, Game 5 marked the only time Zito has allowed zero runs in a postseason start. At any rate, it certainly was redemption for Zito, who was left off the playoff roster during the Giants' World Series run in 2010.